Mysterious Happenings
by Cerulean Dreams
Summary: *Finished!* This is the sequel to Dreams Do Come True. Life after the 'fairy tale' is good but someone or something is out to get revenge. Wonder who it is... [E+T & a lil' S+S] Please R+R! ^_^
1. The Wedding

Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own CCS or Cinderella. I'm just borrowing the characters of CCS and part of the storyline of Cinderella.

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A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks for reading my fic. It really means a lot to me. And I must warn you that I'm an E+T fan, ^_^ so don't be expecting any E+K because I don't like Kaho. So if you're a fan of Kaho, I'd advise you to not continue reading. This is my first/second fic, so please be nice and read and review! It's the sequel to Dreams do Come True. Oh, and before I forget, I'd like to especially thank Blayde and Kawaiinesspnay for being my first two reviewers! And blayde, thanks for the comment about the carriage and limo thing. It was kinda weird now that I think about it, but I guess it's a little too late to change it now. And I didn't get much reviews so I waited before releasing this sequel. But I decided to just post it up now for those of you who liked it. Thx soooo much! This is for you ppl who R+R! Ja! =)

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**~*The Wedding*~**

"Tomoyo-chan!" Tomoyo turned around at the sound of her name being called from behind her apartment door, and the loud knocking. It was her best friend Sakura shouting and ringing the bell constantly, obviously excited about something. So she opened the door to let her ecstatic friend in.  

"Hi Sakura!" 

"Why are you so excited, and what happened?"

"Guess what?"

"What is it?"

Sakura's eyes went starry as she began to answer. "Syaoran proposed to me!! See, look at this ring he gave me."

The ring was made of 14kt gold and had a fairly nice sized emerald jewel saddled on top. 

"Syaoran said it matches my sparkling eyes! Don't you think so?"

"Ahhhhh! Congratulations! I know you two will be so happy together! And the ring does go very well with your brilliant eyes! I'm so happy for you two, but the only thing that makes me sad is that I missed such a kawaii moment on tape!." squealed Tomoyo. Although she was happy for them, her two best friends, she was a little disappointed too, because it wasn't her that was making Sakura so happy. It was Syaoran. But she instantly brightened up when she thought of her other love. Her true love who loved her back-Eriol.

"Well I was wondering if you could be my maid of honor and plan the wedding, if it's not too much for you." Sakura asked uneasily, still not quite sure if Tomoyo would be okay. 

"Of course I would!" cried Tomoyo. "I'd be honored to do this for my two best friends in the world. I'm also going to make your wedding dress, and it'll be so beautiful! I could even make a tux for Syaoran, if he wants!" Now it was Tomoyo's turn to go starry-eyed. "Just think of all the pretty designs I could use! And all the flowers I'll order and arrange and the food, with your consultancy, and the cake and the decorations! I can't wait to get started!"

"Thank you so much for doing this Tomoyo! You're the best! But I think Syaoran already has his eyes on another tuxedo in a store we passed by last time. So you don't need to bother with that" Sakura said as she embraced her best friend in gratitude.

"Well, I've gotta go and tell everyone about this news!" Sakura said.

"No, let me do that! I'll get the invitations right away and mail all of them! Just give me your list of guest."

"Okay, arigatou! I knew I could count on you! Bye!"

With that, Sakura left dreamily, still dreaming about her perfect wedding day. 

"Wow, that's a lot of planning to do, especially since it's only a month away," thought Tomoyo. "I'll need to get some help, but first I've gotta tell Eriol about this. He'll be so excited!"

~*~

When Sakura left, Tomoyo picked up her phone and pushed the speed dial button, and of course she had Eriol's number on speed dial.

"Konnichi wa, Hiiragizawa Eriol speaking."

"Eriol-kun? This is Tomoyo. I've got something very important to tell you! I'm so excited!"

"Well, what is it? I wanna know."

"Well, you know how Sakura and Syaoran have been dating for a long time now?"

"Yea, yea, go on with it! This curiosity is getting the best of me. So go!"

"Well, maybe I shouldn't tell you just yet. You sound so cute when you're kinda pouty like that." She teased.

"I won't be so cute when I die of curiosity here, so tell me!" he practically shouted in excitement.

"Okay, okay. Syaoran finally proposed to Sakura!! Isn't that great?"

Eriol smirked on the other line. "So my cute descendant finally had the guts to do it huh? And that is wonderful news. And let me guess, you're making the dress and planning the whole thing?"

"Yep! Although it is a lot of work…"

"Oh, let me help you! It'd be a fun project we could work on together and we could spend more time together! I just can't get enough of you, my sweet little plum blossom."

"That would be fantastic! You're so thoughtful, and I'd love to spend more time with you!"

"I've gotta book a ballroom and all that stuff so talk to you later, okay? Love you, bye."

"Love you too, bye."

~*~

The next week, Eriol and Tomoyo met at the banquet hall to plan the rest of the arrangements for the wedding. 

"No, I think those flowers should go there, or there," Tomoyo sighed. This was harder than she thought, but luckily she had Eriol there to help.

"No, there's fine." Eriol gestured over in the direction he was implying.

"Okay then."

"Whoo, let's take a break, Tomoyo. We've been doing this for five hours straight. Don't you think we deserve a small break?"

"But we still have a lot of things to plan, and I wanna finish as soon as possible, so we can get Sakura and Syaoran's opinion. Then we could quickly change anything they don't like, before it's too late." Tomoyo reasoned.

"We'll get it done, don't worry. You're too stressed. Here let me give you a shoulder massage." Eriol gave the most sensational massages ever, so Tomoyo couldn't resist. Besides, she was getting a little tired.

So she sat in front of him, and he worked his magic. Not his real magic but he magic of his massaging hands.

"Ah, that feels so good."

"I am a professional you know," Eriol teased.

Tomoyo giggled. She loved Eriol's sense of humor and how he's always teasing her that way. 

"Some day our wedding will be just as perfect as this, or maybe even better," Eriol thought out loud.

Whoa, he's thinking of marriage already? I hadn't really thought about it that much.  Tomoyo thought. Oh well, just as long as I'm marrying him.

"You wanna marry me?" Tomoyo mocked.

"Of course! I love you and there's no one I'd rather spend the rest of my life with than you. You're the only one for me. I don't know what I was thinking when I was with Kaho, a long time ago. She seems like a wicked witch, now that I think of it…especially compared to you, my little angel."

"Oh stop it Eriol," Tomoyo remarked jokingly, loving the way he always praised her.

"Stop what? I'm only speaking the truth. And besides I'm a born charmer, remember?" he smirked. "And I would love to marry you one day. When I do, that day would be the happiest day of my life. I wouldn't even care if the wedding was really crummy, just as long as I have you, and am marrying you. I wouldn't care if I was on my death bed, just as long as you're by my side and you're the last thing I see."

"You know, you really are prince charming, and you're so sweet," giggled Tomoyo. She felt so good inside to hear all this. It meant a lot to her that someone loved her that much. " But stop being so loving and alluring now, Eriol, even though I love it, because we should really get back to work."

"Gomen nasai Tomoyo, but that's just the way I am." He smirked again and pulled her closer for a kiss. She returned the kiss, but pulled away shortly. They still had work to do, and here she was playing around with Eriol, although it was hard to resist him. He was ever so charming and attracting. 

"Quit fooling around, we've got to finish this," Tomoyo smiled, although she was also a little reluctant.

"It was just a little kiss, dear, and I wasn't finished," Eriol said with the cutest little puppy face pout.

"Aww, that's so kawaii! After we finish, could you do that again? I just have to get it on tape, even though I usually tape Sakura. But we've got to work first and play later…" Tomoyo said, still halfhearted. Eriol fell anime-style at the first remark. "You just can't put down that camcorder of yours for very long, can you?" he said.

"Well, you know it is very fascinating, and it's one of my hobbies." She told him. But back to the playing around part. She liked playing with him, especially when he had that oh so cute puppy face pout. But they had to finish planning the wedding for Sakura and Syaoran. After all, this was Sakura and Syaoran's wedding they were planning, and they were her dearest friends.

"Fine, but you owe me half a kiss." He retorted.

"Help me finish this thing quickly and I'll give you a full one."

"Deal!"

It was incredible. After another five hours, they had finished preparing everything. And they did this in only a week. Imagine. A perfect wedding planned in only a week. But of course, the perfect couple planned it, so it was bound to be exceptional.

"Wow! We actually did it! Everything's just right: the flowers, the cake, the decorations, the dress, the setting, the music, the invitations, the guests, the food. The everything is picture perfect!" exclaimed Tomoyo, as she threw herself on Eriol to give him a grateful hug. "And I couldn't have done it without you!"

"Yes, and I went out with Syaoran yesterday and got him the perfect tuxedo too. Everything's great, so lets rest and call them in tomorrow for the 'final judgment.'"

Tomoyo giggled as she remembered Sakura having passed the test that Yue gave her to see if she was worthy of being the Clow Mistress. "Looks like it's our turn to see if we're worthy."

"I'm sure we are."

They began to exit the hall, but just before they did, Eriol had a mischievous smirk playing on his lips.

"What about my kiss? You didn't forget our little agreement, did you?"

"Oh yes, the kiss. I changed my mind," she teased, "I just said that to get you to finish planning with me." She laughed playfully.

"You wound me so, Tomoyo. And here I thought you actually loved me." He put on a fake pouty face.

They were always teasing each other in a way that only they could understand. If you didn't know them well enough, you'd think that she really meant what she said, and he was really hurt. But they weren't being serious. It was just how their relationship was: sarcastic, loving, and ever so kawaii.

"Alright." Tomoyo said, and pulled him in to seal their deal.

~*~

~*The Big Day*~

Tomoyo spent the night at Eriol's luxurious mansion that night. He had a mansion and a palace. The palace was for the king and his relatives, and the mansion was for him, Nakuru, and Spinel Sun. It was like his little getaway, his sanctuary. Normally, he stayed there, but went over to the palace the other time for the ball. The mansion was close by and they were both very tired. Plus, they felt inseparable that night. They just wanted to be near each other. They were too close to be separated now.

"You may use this room." Eriol opened the door to the room that was just perfect for Tomoyo. It was like the whole room was shouting her name. The curtains on the window to the balcony were a light lavender color, the bed sheets were a light lavender, the carpet was a baby blue, the walls were white, and the mirror and desk were also a matching color to the pastel colors around them. The balcony had a very nice view of the city, and the bedstead was white with pale lavender curtains around the top.

"It's a lovely room, Eriol. Did you decorate it yourself?"

"Yes, in fact I did. I designed so that it would fit your personality. The only thing that is missing from this room is you. You complete the entire scene. I thought that if one day you might spend the night here again, you would use this room, and it reminds me of you. So every time I feel a little lonely, I go to this room to think about you and reminisce of all the good times we've shared. It makes me fell a lot better afterwards, especially knowing that you're only a phone call away, and that I would see you the next day."

Once again, Tomoyo was touched by his words. They were so sweet and sincere. How did I ever live without him? Tomoyo thought. Then she remembered. Oh yea, I didn't really live happily because I was living with my evil stepmother and stepsisters, who made me do everything for them. Then when I became eighteen, I was old enough to inherit my father's fortune, and I moved out. That was only a little after while after that special night when I first met Eriol at the ball. 

"You enchant me Eriol Hiiragizawa. You really do. Whenever I talk to you, you always end up saying something like this, and my heart melts." She gave him a light kiss on the cheek, while it turned a pale pink. 

Eriol grinned. She had always been able to melt his heart, and love the fact that he could do the same. 

~*~

The next day, Eriol and Tomoyo had breakfast together, and went out to the banquet hall. They had called Sakura and Syaoran to come too, to inspect the hall. The four of them arrived at the same time. Eriol stood in front of one door, and Tomoyo stood in front of the other. 

"Presenting the banquet hall for the soon to be Mr. And Mrs. Li Syaoran." Eriol announce. Then he and Tomoyo opened the door they stood in front of, revealing the picturesque ballroom/banquet hall. The two (Sakura and Syaoran) gasped. They were stunned by how beautiful everything was. The only word to describe it was 'perfect.' 

"Arigatou so much to both of you!" Sakura and Syaoran cried, and embraced them in a very appreciative hug.

"Y-you're w-welcome," both Eriol and Tomoyo stuttered, as the couple before them squeezed the air out of them.

The hall was filled with all kinds of flowers, especially Sakura flowers, which represented Sakura, and there were cute little statues of a cute little wolf around the hall, representing Syaoran. Everything was decorated a pale pink, for Sakura, and a pale green, which matched beautifully, for Syaoran. The mini gifts that were passed out for the wedding was a miniature figurine of a cute little wolf holding cherry blossoms (Sakura flowers). They were placed around every table, one for each guest. Everything was so perfect, that the couple to be married didn't have a thing to change.

Sakura went teary-eyed. She loved the entire room. It was just the way she wanted it to be. And when she saw the dress hanging on a chair nearby, more tears spilled out; tears of shear happiness. The dress was even more elegant and gorgeous than the dress that she saw in a wedding store, that she had wanted to buy. But of course she didn't, because she promised that Tomoyo could design it for her. She was so glad she had made that promise. 

"Syaoran, we have the two best friends in the world!" Sakura exclaimed.

"I couldn't agree more." Syaoran responded.

~*~

The day of the wedding had finally arrived. Tomoyo was helping Sakura get ready, and Eriol was helping Syaoran get ready for their big night.

"You're not nervous, are you, Sakura?" 

"A little, and I'm very excited."

"Congratulations! I'm so happy for you and Syaoran!"

"This is going to be the happiest day of my life."

"I can't believe this day finally arrived! I knew you two would be together forever! So have you two thought about your honeymoon yet?"

"Yea. We're going to Hong Kong to meet his family and vacation there! Isn't that great?"

"Of course it's great! And you look great, but hold still so I can get a shot of you with my camera. You know of course, that I can't miss this day on video!" Tomoyo squealed in delight.

"Just when I thought you forgot about that, you bring it out again!" Sakura laughed.

"Ooooooh, and I've got to record you going down the aisle, and the whole ceremony!"

"That's so you, Tomoyo!" Sakura cried. "Try to think of something else besides that camcorder, for once!"

"Like what? Oh, I know, I'll think about how kawaii you two look together! And how happy you two must be. So if you're happy, then so am I!"

"I was referring to Eriol, Tomoyo." Sakura sighed. "You haven't said a thing about him the entire day!"

"But it's yours and Syaoran's big day. Why would I mention Eriol when it's all about you two today?"

"Did I hear my name?" came a familiar voice from the doorway. 

"Oh hi Eriol-kun, doesn't Sakura-chan look beautiful?"

"Yes, indeed she does. But I'm sorry Sakura-chan, because in my eyes, the most beautiful woman in the world is my Tomoyo, but you're second place and very close to first." He smiled, looked at her adoringly and slipped his arms around her tiny waist to hug her tightly. Sakura smiled at this, she was also very happy that her dearest friend, Tomoyo, had finally found the one she truly loves.

"Oh stop teasing! This is Sakura's wedding day, and she deserves to be the most beautiful woman in the world, which she is!" Tomoyo defended.

"Tomoyo-chan, Eriol-kun is right. You're the most beautiful woman in the world and I couldn't be happier for you. So just drop it. Besides, I'm the most beautiful in Syaoran's eyes, and you're the most beautiful in Eriol's, so it's even." Sakura replied.

"Fine, but I still think you're the most beautiful, no matter what anyone says." Chuckled Tomoyo.

~*~

Night had fallen quickly that day, while everyone was so busy getting ready for the wedding. And now everyone was in their places at the chapel. Syaoran was standing next to Eriol, waiting for his bride to come. Sakura was standing behind the doors, waiting for her cue to walk down the aisle. The guests were seated, Tomoyo was standing on the bride's side, and being maid of honor, she stood next to the altar. Eriol was standing on the groom's side, and was the best man, so he stood on the other side of the altar. Both of them glanced at each other, and both were excited and happy for their friends.

The music began to play, as Sakura opened the door to the room filled with her loved ones. She slowly walked down the aisle, walking to the wedding march song. But unfortunately, being the clumsy Sakura that she was, she tripped on her wedding dress and fell face down on the floor. It was her wedding day and she tripped on her dress, not being used to it, and all of this was caught on tape too! Poor Sakura. It was a bit embarrassing, and she wanted her special day to be perfect, but she stumbled. Some of the guests quickly stifled a laugh at the bride's clumsiness, especially Sakura's brother, Touya. He always made fun of Sakura and this would be great blackmail someday, he thought.

Sakura finally reached the end of the aisle and the minister read from the bible. The two of them each said their own vows after saying 'I do', and kissed. Everyone cheered. They were wedded. 

Everyone moved on to the beautiful banquet hall in the next room, and the party began. All of the guests were eating, dancing, and socializing, while Eriol and Tomoyo hid in the back of the spacious room. They were planning to throw pixie dust over the whole banquet to make a shimmering effect. 

"Is this enough to cover the entire room?" Tomoyo inquired Eriol.

"It should be, and if it's not, I'll make it enough." Eriol released his staff and dispelled the fairy dust everywhere, causing everyone to look up, amazed.

"We did it," Tomoyo cheered silently, as Eriol confined his staff once again.

"Yes, we did." Eriol smiled, and they walked out of their hiding place. 

Sakura and Syaoran knew instantly that they were the ones who made the magical dust appear and thanked them. 

"Thank you guys again! You made it even prettier than it was before. I didn't think it was even possible!" Sakura thanked them. "Now come on and dance! You two make such a cute couple!"

They blushed at that compliment. But it was true though; they made the most kawaiiest couple ever. Her purple-black hair and amethyst eyes went so well with his dark midnight blue hair and cerulean eyes. And both of them had a pale complexion that matched so well. If you just looked at them standing next to each other, you'd think they were made for each other.

The two couples walked out onto the dance floor, hand in hand. It was a slow song, and they danced beautifully.

"Wow, it's been a while since we've danced together," Tomoyo said to Eriol.

"It has, hasn't it? And now that we're dancing again, I realize how much I missed this." Eriol answered.

"I've missed it too, and I love being in your arms. It makes me feel so safe, warm, and loved." She beamed.

Now they stepped off the dance floor and moved into the outside garden for a private moment together. Enjoying their private moment and the gleaming stars, they engaged themselves into a private conversation. 

"I love having you in my arms, and when you're here, I feel complete." 

After their touching confessions, the two cuddled up and kissed lightly. 

"You know what?" Eriol inquired Tomoyo.

"What?"

"I've missed that too." They beamed at that. After all those years being together, they still couldn't seem to get enough of it. All they wanted to do was stay together forever, even in their after life. It seemed now that they couldn't be separated…or so they thought.

"Tomoyo, I want you to know something."

"What is it?"

"I want you to know that I'll always be there for you and protect you. Know that whenever I'm near, you're safe."

"Arigatou Eriol. That means a lot to me. And I want you to know something."

"What is it?"

"Know that I'll always love you no matter what. And that even if we ever argue, know that I'll always love you no matter what I say or do."

"And I you."

~*~

Back inside the banquet

"Attention everyone. I'd like to make a toast to Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun. You two have been so good to me. I don't know how I'll ever thank you two enough. You are the two finest people on earth. I love you both very much and I hope you two a very pleasurable life together filled with love and happiest. I wish you the best. Cheers to Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun!" Tomoyo proudly announced and raised her glass with everyone. 

"Cheers!" 

"Now we'd like to give the newly weds the second part of our gift, aside from the actually present. It is a song duet with me on the piano and Ms. Tomoyo Daidouji on vocal. I hope you both like it and the rest of you may enjoy as well." Eriol announced. He seated himself on the piano bench and Tomoyo stood next to him with the microphone. They did a beautiful duet together, dedicated to their dear friends. 

"That was beautiful, you two. Thank you once again! This entire evening was an éclat!" the couple thanked for the millionth time.

The wedding ended nicely and everyone left. The driver drove the newly weds to their new home, with the limo that Tomoyo had generously allowed them to keep as a wedding gift. They arrived at their home and Syaoran carried Sakura over the threshold. 

"KAWAIIIIIIIII!!!!" squealed Tomoyo, as she recorded the whole scene. 

"You never get tired of that do you?" Eriol inquired.

"Nope. It's a hobby of mine."

"Well, lets go now, they need time alone."

"Okay then."

Tomoyo dropped off Eriol at his mansion with her limo and bid him goodnight.

"Goodnight Eriol-kun."

"Goodnight my sweet Tomoyo-chan."

He kissed her goodnight and she departed to her apartment, which was only about twenty minutes away.

~*~

Somewhere on the roof of a building, someone was watching. 

"Wait 'til you see what I have in stores for you, 'plum blossom' muhahaha." (Silently and evilly) "You'll be sorry for what you did."

A/N: Cliffhanger? Don't you just love those? ^_^ J/k. I know this chapter was short, but did you like it? And do you have cavities from all the sweetness yet? I'll have the next chapter up pretty soon, but not too soon. I don't know if I can keep this up with my schoolwork and everything too. But please review! Ja! =)


	2. Something Unexpected

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Disclaimer: You know the drill for these kinds of things, but I'll say it anyway. I don't own CCS or Cinderella. 

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A/N: hi! And thanks again to all of you who have read my fic so far! Thanks for bearing with me. Here's chapter two, and I think that chapter three is coming out soon. Depending on if I'm lazy or not or if I get inspired. I've got lots of work to do. But I'll try my best to keep you posted. R+R! Ja! ^_^

Chapter 2

**~*Something Unexpected*~**

The Next Morning

Ring! Ring! The telephone rang and one of Tomoyo's maids answered it. 

Tomoyo was still lying sleepily on her bed, too tired to get up. Knock Knock. Her maid knocked on the door and came in.

"Ms. Daidouji, phone for you."

"Could you take a message? I'm very tired right now."

"But it's Eriol Hiiragizawa."

"Eriol-kun?! Why didn't you say so?"

She handed her the phone.

"Konnichi wa, Tomoyo speaking." 

"Good morning my little sleeping angel." Came Eriol's voice on the other line.

"Good morning. So what did you call for?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to go see a movie with me this evening."

"I'd love to."

"I'll pick you up at seven?"

"Sounds great!"

"See you tonight, bye."

"Bye."

And they hung up. Little did the two know that it wasn't going to be so great. Something was about to happen that night…

~*~

That night

"Good evening Tomoyo-chan."

"Hi! Boy, you really are punctual. It's exactly seven o' clock, and not a second later."

"Of course! I just couldn't wait to see you again."

"How sweet." She smiled and it made his heart melt.

"Shall we get going? The movie starts at seven thirty."

"Hai. Let's go."

When they arrived at the theater, it was pretty packed. There were so many people there that you could get lost if you weren't careful. But they pushed through the crowd to the ticket booth. Eriol bought them two tickets for their movie and they entered the showing room.

"Eriol-kun, I think I'm gonna go to the restroom first."

"Okay, just don't get lost, it's very crowded out there."

"Don't worry, I think I'm old enough to use the restroom by myself, mother." She teased.

"Alright. I was just worried about my little girl. She's growing up so fast." He reciprocated.

"Oh stop it you." She smiled back.

Tomoyo reached the restroom and was relieved. It wasn't as jammed in there as out in the lobby. It seemed like there was a traffic jam outside, and people were pushing and shoving. When she returned outside, someone suddenly grabbed her and covered her mouth, pulling her away to somewhere a little more private. She gasped and tried to break free, but it was no use. The person doing this to her was pretty strong.

Once she was released, she saw her kidnapper, and gasped in horror and surprise. It was a masked shadow in a cloak. Tomoyo tried to run, but again, it was no use. The masked kidnapper had put a spell on the entire rooftop, and only she could break it, unless someone was more powerful than she was. 

"Why are you doing this to me? Haven't I suffered enough when I was living with you?"

"I don't think so. You stole the prince from my charming daughters and you moved out without my permission. Now I have no one to do the chores for me!"

"But I…"

"SILENCE!" boomed the mysterious figure.

"Now you must pay for what you did. You shall be locked up here for the rest of your life or you could return and live with me and do everything I say. Your choice."

"What did I ever do to you? I don't even know who you are. Show your face!"

"I don't have to show you anything! And you will obey me."

"No I won't, and besides, my date will rescue me!"

"Oh no he won't. He thinks you're in the restroom, remember? And he won't know where you are. You're under my control now. Ahhahahaha" she laughed evilly and lowly.

"We'll just see about that. He will come for me. He'll come after he notices that I've been gone so long."

"Oh, and what's he gonna do? Just walk right into here? I don't think so. This rooftop is sealed with my magic and only I or anyone more powerful than me can break the spell. Plus, I've added an invisibility spell so that non-magic people won't notice or here anything. Your 'little date' is just a little boy. But I did sense his aura before. He seems powerful, but what can he do? Card tricks? Make bunny rabbits come out of a hat? Hahaha." There goes her low, evil laugh again. 

"Eriol-kun is way stronger than you'll ever be. You just wait and see."

"I know him." And I've dated him before too. she thought. "That boy is a fool. He can't even do an order right without questioning me." she said, scornfully. "Oh good. I've just noticed that I can now take revenge on two people that I hate. A two for one deal. How nice is that? And it was all thanks to you. Let's see, what should I do with Hiiragizawa." She sneered. "This is going to be a long and enjoyable evening for me. And as for you two, it won't be quite as fun. Ahaha."

~*~

In the Theatre

"Where's Tomoyo-chan? It should take her that long to use the restroom. Oh no! What if something happened to her? If something did happen, I'd never forgive myself. I promised her that whenever I'm near, she'd always be safe. And now she's missing. I'd better go look for her." Eriol thought.

He walked out of the movie scope and to the front of the ladies restroom. "Tomoyo-san, are you in there?" Then suddenly a lady walked out glaring at him. 

"Excuse me Miss, but did you see a girl in there with purple-black hair, purple eyes, pale skin like mine, and about my age?" he asked her.

"I believe I did, and then I heard someone laughing quite evilly and I heard a muffled scream. I think that scream came from the girl that you just described." The lady responded.

"Which way did she go?"

"I believe that way," she said, pointing to the rooftop entrance door.

"Thanks!" and he ran to the roof, bursting through the door.

"Unhand her!" he bellowed. The two heads turned towards him.

"Ah yes, his royal highness the prince has come to join us. We were having so much fun together. You're not going to spoil it now are you?" the cloaked figure said as he/she bowed, teasing him. 

"Come on Tomoyo, let's get out of here."

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that." There was silence and a pause. "Hey, your aura is very powerful, so why don't you come over to my side and help me torture Tomoyo-san? She's just a stupid little brat, who barely has any powers at all. She doesn't deserve your love. All she can do is complain. Come on, what are you afraid of? You think she'll break up with you or something?"

"Shut up you baka! I would never do anything to harm Tomoyo. She's too precious to me. I'd rather die than go over to your side, whoever you are." At those words, he released his wand and began blasting the shield, which slowly wore away. He was, in fact, more powerful than this shadowy form. He was also the reincarnation of the all-powerful sorcerer Clow Reed. 

The unidentified silhouette gasped at what he did. She didn't know of this. She thought he was just some little boy who knew a little magic and was still in training. But she was oh so wrong. Then he took her by surprise, and cast a spell on her that binded her powers. Now she couldn't do anything evil.

He blasted the last of the shield, and grabbing Tomoyo's wrist, jumped off the building. He landed gently on his feet, with no one in sight to see him, and caught Tomoyo as if it was no big deal.

"That was some adventure, wouldn't you say?" Eriol remarked.

"Hai. That was some date we had, and nice catch." Tomoyo rejoined.

"That was a nice catch, wasn't it? And I don't just mean that I caught you from falling. Aww, we missed our movie and I spent twelve bucks for this? What a shame."

"Why don't we go out to a café instead? What do you say?"

"I say I'd love to."

~*~

Back on top of the roof

"That little brat! He can't do this to me! I'll get my revenge on him if it's the last thing I do!" the figure fumed. "I was just unprepared this time, but the next time I won't be! He got away too easy, and it won't happen again. And he may have won the battle, but he isn't going to win the war! And I know both of their weaknesses now: each other. So I can toy with their puny little hearts and split them up. Then they'll be even more vulnerable."

The peculiar shrouded shape was dripping with hatred and somehow, that powerful hatred broke Eriol's spell. She was now free to do all the horrible things she was scheming. She decided to try a different angle the next time. The two would be hurt emotionally more than physically. 

"I guess evil _can_ overcome good. Muhaha." She laughed lowly, as she felt the binds of the spell melt away. "And since they didn't know it was me, I think I'll make a come back."

~*~

They walked to a café nearby, and found two friends sitting at a window seat. It was Sakura and Syaoran sharing an ice cream sundae. 

"Sakura-chan! Syaoran-kun! Konnichi wa!" cried Tomoyo.

"Tomoyo-chan! Eriol-kun! Konnichi wa, what are you guys doing here? You wanna sit with us?" Sakura replied.

"Sure." Eriol answered.

"So what's up with you two? I thought you were going to see a movie together." Syaoran asked.

"Oh we did, but it was a bust so we decided to go get a cup of tea or something." Tomoyo answered. "So how is married life? Having fun together?"

"Hai, did the 'prince and princess' live happily ever after?" Eriol joked.

"We sure did!" Sakura said happily. "It's like a dream come true!" she went on, starry-eyed.

At that last comment, Tomoyo thought back to the song that she sang at night: 

A dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep,

In a dream, you will lose all your heartaches,

Whatever you wish for you keep,

Have faith in your dreams,

And someday your rainbow will come smiling,

And no matter how your heart is dreaming,

If you keep on believing, 

The dreams that you wish,

Will come true.

"Maybe my dreams are coming true too." She thought, glancing at Eriol who was oblivious. But she digressed from this thought when Syaoran gave her a tap on the shoulder.

"Tomoyo-chan, daijobu?" he asked, a little concerned.

"Huh? Daijobu. I was just spacing out. Gomen." She answered back.

The four of them continued their evening snack and chats. Then left at around 11:00, deciding that it was getting a little late.

~*~

The next morning

The phone rang once again, and the maid answered it.

"Ms. Daidouji-sama, there is a Mrs. Li Sakura-san on the phone for you."

"Arigatou."

She picked up the phone and heard Kero arguing with Sakura on the other line.

"Sakura, please? Just one more box of chocolates? I need my energy to play these new video games."

::sigh:: "No Kero! You've already had ten boxes! "I'm on the ph-"

"Konnichi wa Sakura. Kero still begging for more sweets?"

"Moshi, moshi Tomoyo, and yea. You heard huh?"

"Hai. So what did you call for?"

"Oh, I just wanted to talk like we always do!" she said, cheerfully.

"Sure Sakura-chan, what's on your mind?"

"Well, I was just wondering how it's going with you and Eriol. It's been a while since we talked about girl stuff."

Tomoyo grinned at the mention of his name. "It's been going great. But we had a kinda fight last week."

"What? Why? You two made up though, right? Oh, Kami-sama! Don't tell me you broke up!"

"Calm down Sakura-chan. We made up, so don't worry. Even if we do fight, though, it's natural. All couples do. It's nothing to panic about." Tomoyo reassured her.

"But you two are so perfect together. What did you guys have to fight about? And I never argued with Syaoran-kun."

"Well, you two are too perfect for each other, and he loves you too much to disappoint you. So he always agrees with what you say. Anyway, Eriol and I went shopping at the mall, and this girl about our age with short red hair and rather mischievous eyes, walked by, dropping her 'hankie' as she called it. So Eriol-kun, being the gentleman that he is, went over to pick it up for her. She thanked him in the oddest way though."

"Yea? What happened?"

"Well, she threw herself at Eriol-kun and kissed him, tongue and everything. ::Grossed out:: He didn't exactly fight it until he saw my irritated expression. He quickly pushed her away, saying, 'Sorry miss, but I already have a girlfriend.' Then she had the nerve to say, 'So what? There's no rule saying that you can only have one. Let me your second one, or dump her. I could satisfy you more than she could ever come close too.' And she was looking straight at me. She smiled evilly and Eriol-kun was frozen in his place, stunned. Then she came over to me and said, 'Sorry honey, but he's mine now, so why don't you just scram. There's nothing left here for you.' Then I turned to Eriol-kun, saying, 'Eriol-kun? How could you do this?' but he was still a little shocked at what had happened, and stared at me confusedly. Then I ran away to the bathroom, tears pouring out like crazy. It was then that I noticed the familiar and strong aura around that strange girl. I then realized that it was Mizuki-sensei in a disguise. I guess that was her vengeance on me for leaving her "services". She's really nasty. I mean, imagine. Playing with people's feelings and emotions. That's low."

Sakura gasped at this. She was surprised at the atrocious things that Kaho could do. She was messing with people's feelings here. "That's not right at all. She's your own stepmother too!"

"Well, she's always treated me like an intruder to the family anyway. So I guess I'm used to it."

"That's still wrong, but go on. What happened next?"

"Oh, right. Well, after that, I stayed in the restroom because it hurt that Eriol-kun didn't push her away right when she was on him. He let her kiss him. And I continued to cry."

Tears were threatening to fall from Sakura's eyes, when she heard how much her best friend was hurt. Especially when she was happily married and contented too.

"Later, Eriol-kun came into the ladies restroom at the mall, and all the other ladies screamed and ran out the door. He tried to talk to me, but I locked myself in one of the stalls, and refused to come out. He begged me to forgive him and explained why he let her do that and why he was stunned."

"What did he say?"

"He told me that it was very familiar and that he was stunned that Kaho-san would kiss him after _she _dumped him. Then he told me that I was the only one for him. That he was completely over Kaho. That I'm the only one he wants to be with, and the only one he would give his extraordinary kisses to. You know, the usual mush. Then I finally gave in after a while, and came out. I forgave him and he kissed me reassuringly. And we gladly walked out of the restroom. I was relieved. I thought that he might still like Kaho-sama, and that I lost him forever. He's my first and only love besides you, you know, and I didn't want to let him go. I was relieved because I was getting tired of hearing women scream when they came in and saw Eriol-kun there."

Sakura snickered when she imagined the screaming ladies running out of the restroom. Thinking that other people at the mall must have been bewildered by these screams.

"But you know what the weird thing was?"

"What?"

"After a while, there was a crowd of women in the restroom, watching our scene and cheering Eriol-kun on. Some of them were even shouting for me to forgive him, and told me that they could tell Eriol-kun was being very sincere. But of course I also heard girls giggle at Eriol-kun when they were whispering to each other about how sweet this guy was and how cute he was. Then I realized that he was very sincere and sweet for doing this. I mean he did _come into the women's restroom to convince me that nothing happened between him and Kaho-sama. _Now that I think about it, it was a bit amusing: Eriol-kun, a gentleman, in the women's restroom and graveling there. I asked him if he was embarrassed when we came out, but he said he wasn't, and that he only cared that I was at his side again."

"Aww, that's so sweet and kawaii, Tomoyo-chan. How could you get mad at him?"

"Well, you should've seen him with Kaho-sama. It hurt me to see that."

"Well did the crowd leave after you came out?"

"Hai. They were cheering at us and some left, but some actually had to use the restroom." she chuckled.

"I understand, but still, how could you argue with Eriol-kun? He's so charming, handsome, kind, compassionate, and lovable." She said with admiring eyes.

"Do I sense jealousy here? Don't tell me you're falling for him!"

"I'm not! Tomoyo! How could you even think of that? I'm married to Syaoran-kun and I'm just describing a friend."

"Just teasing, Sakura-san. Relax."

"Yea, well. Hey, Tomoyo-san. What happened after you ran to the restroom? Did Mizuki-sensei leave or plant another one of her deadly kisses on poor Eriol-kun?"

"Oh, Eriol-kun told me that he finally reached his senses after I ran I away, and realized what happened. Then he told Kaho-san off and ran to the lavatory to fetch me."

"Aww. He was so sweet, Tomoyo-chan! Please try not to argue again. I hate to see you or Eriol-kun hurt. And I just noticed something."

"What?"

"Well, Mizuki-sensei was trying to toy with your emotions, right?"

"Yea. What about it?"

"Well, she failed again at getting to you two. You defeated her. You guys worked it out and didn't let her mess everything up. You're meant to be together."

"I guess. But I have a feeling this isn't the last of her. She'll make one more come back to try and take revenge on us somehow. The question is, how?"

"Whatever it is, I know you and Eriol-kun can overcome it easily." Sakura assured her.

"I'm not so sure about that, but there's one more thing that I forgot to tell you."

~Flashback~

"Tomoyo-chan, how about I take you out to dinner tonight and dancing? We haven't done that in a while." Eriol suggested.

"Sure, I'd love to." Tomoyo answered. But in her mind, she was planning on telling him something important that night and she didn't know how he would take it. 

At the restaurant

"I think I'll have that." Eriol said, pointing to an exquisite dish on the menu. 

"I'll have the same." Tomoyo also told the waiter.

"Wanna dance while we wait for our food to arrive?"

"I'd love to."

Once again, the two were dancing beautifully with each other. Both were good at the art of dancing. Other couples watched in awe as the two were the only ones on the dance floor, and because they did it so well. There was also a soft song playing, making the scene even nicer.

"Eriol-kun?"

"Hai?"

"Um…I think we should take a break from each other. It's not that we're breaking up. It's just that we spend so much time with each other. Are you okay with that?"

"Well, actually I was thinking the same thing. I wanted to take a little breather, but I'm afraid I'll miss you too much."

"It's okay, we'll still keep in touch. We just won't see each other so often anymore. It'll be alright, and I'll miss you very much too. See, my okaasan is going on a business trip to France, and she invited me to go with her. I'm thinking about taking her up on this one. What do you think? I mean it'll give us the time apart that we need."

"I think it's fine. Just as long as you're happy, then so am I. But I'm going to miss your presence very much. You bring joy into my life everyday. Since I've met you, I don't think I've been able to be separated. But we do need this break."

"So you're okay with it, right? I'll only be gone for a week."

_A week?!_ screamed Eriol's mind. But he remained calm. "A week? Boy, this is going to be hard." He said uneasily.

"Don't worry. We'll write letters everyday and keep in touch." She smiled.

"Yubikiri?" (promise?) He held out his pinky finger. He knew how much Tomoyo loved pinky promises.

"Yubikiri!" she said with enthusiasm, as she entwined her own pinky with his.

"So lets enjoy the rest of our time together, sweetheart."

He held her closer, now slow dancing to the music. 

~End flashback~

Tomoyo told Sakura the whole story. She was shocked.

"Tomoyo-chan? But why? What's wrong with you two? You love each other and you decide to take a break from it?!"

"Well, we've been seeing a LOT of each other lately. It's been great but sometimes it's just too much. Not that I'm sick of him or anything like that. I still look forward to seeing him everyday. It's just complicated and hard to explain."

The Next Day

Tomoyo was packing for her trip to Paris, France. It was only two days away. She and Eriol decided to spend the rest of the days together before she left. 

"So what do you want to do before I leave?"

"I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"Whoa. That's the first time I heard you say that."

"Say what?"

"'I don't know'. Cuz you always know everything."

"Well, I admit I don't know everything everything. But I am very close."

She smiled. "Why don't we go to movie?"

"Sure. Whatever you want. Today is your day."

"Thanks, and this time, I'm not leaving your side to go the restroom. Remember last time?"

"Yea. I still can't figure out who that person was. I mean, who would wanna hurt you? Everyone loves you!"

"I'm beginning to think that it was Kaho-san who did that, because I did just leave her and now she doesn't have anyone to force to do the chores for her. You know, maybe she's not out for revenge. I'm also starting to think that she just wants you back. She must have been drunk or something to dump you. You're so perfect and great. I could never let you go." She said, bowing her head down to hide her slightly pink cheeks from him. 

"Don't hide your cute little blushes from me, Tomoyo-chan. I could never let you go either. You really mean the world to me. And Mizuki-san wasn't drunk when she decided to end our relationship. Besides, we weren't meant for each other. We totally clash.  And if we didn't depart, I wouldn't have found you." They both smiled at that.

"You can make an ordinary girl like me feel so special. I thank you for that. It's very charming."

"But you really are special, and remember? I'm the God of Charms. A born charmer." He mocked.

"Come on you egotistic charmer. Let's go in the theater." She countered cheerfully.

They were happy now, but they were also dreading the day. The day she would fly off to Paris. Not Paris, Texas, but Paris, France; the most romantic city on earth. Secretly, Eriol was afraid that some French guy would try to take Tomoyo away from him. And Tomoyo was worried that some girl would try to make a move on Eriol when she was gone: she knew what a hottie the others thought he was. (Which he is.) Yet they were also a little excited about their little vacation from each other. They wondered what they would do.

Will they become unfaithful to each other and fall for other admirers? New people are coming into lives and things aren't going to be so good for them…

A/N: So what do you think now? Not that good, huh? Well, give me a break. I'm not that creative and this is only my first/second fic. Maybe I'll get better. In the meantime, please review. It encourages me to write more and faster. But I still don't have much reviewers. -_- 


	3. Being Apart

Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own CCS. 

A/N: Thank you to all those out there that have stayed with me. You guys are great. But I still need more reviews! It sucks that I work my butt off to write this and I barely have any reviews. But at least a few ppl reviewed my first fic, Dreams Do Come True. Thank you sooooo much if you reviewed. Love you all! ^_^ Now, on with the fic.

Here's a little guide for the chapter:

Speaking: "______"

Thinking:  _____

Chapter 3

**~*Being Apart*~**

The day finally arrived for Tomoyo to leave for France with her mother. Fujitaka gave Sonomi her ride to the airport so they could talk privately, and Eriol gave Tomoyo a ride so they could talk. 

"I'm going to miss you so much, Eriol-kun! Take care! And promise me that you won't fall for another girl when I'm gone. You'll always be faithful, right?" Tomoyo prompted.

"Always! I could never look at anyone but you. No one could even come close to comparing to you."

They arrived at the parking lot and sauntered over to the building. Their flight was bound to leave in ten minutes. "Ten minutes 'til take off on flight 15. I repeat, ten minutes 'til take off for flight 15," the attendant's voice boomed overhead.

"Bye Sakura-chan, Syaoran-kun, Touya-kun, Yuki-kun, Kinomoto-sama, and minna." Tomoyo said, as she waved them all good-bye. She was saving her most special farewell to her one and only Eriol Hiiragizawa.

"Well, I guess this is good by for now." Eriol said sadly.

"Hai. But we'll keep in touch, right?"

"Of course. Remember that I love you and always will. I'll be waiting for your return." He hugged her tightly.

She replied, "I love you too, and I'll always think of you. I'll be back before you know it," she answered cheerfully.

"Flight 15 now boarding. I repeat, flight 15 now boarding." The attendant's voice echoed again.

"Sayonara!"

Tomoyo and her mother boarded the plane. Tomoyo looked a little gloomily out the window. She missed him already. His touch, warmth, smiles, sweet words, charms. In other words: everything about him. She sighed. "I guess I'll feel better later." She then drifted off to sleep.

~*~

 "I can't believe she's really gone now." Eriol said to Nakuru. 

"Are you okay, Master? Would you like some comfort?" she replied with a hint of concern.

"No. I'll be fine, thanks. It just seems unreal. I mean, she was always there and now she's not. I guess I'll feel better later."

"In that case, I'm going to bake some cookies! And you're going to help me, Suppi-chan!" she giggled cheerfully. 

"Suppi-chan? I don't see a Suppi-chan here. Don't tell me you've created an imaginary friend now." Spinel retorted sarcastically from behind his novel.

"Suppi-chan is you, silly! Come on! It's going to be fun!" she said and pulled him in the kitchen. She began to shove cupcakes down the poor creature. 

"Stop it Nakuru! I don't want to be hyper. It'll make me stoop to your level, which is pretty low." He snapped.

"Suppi-chan, you just need a little more sugar. Then the fun can begin!"

Eriol shook his head and grinned. "Behave now you two."

~*~

Tomoyo was still asleep when her mother woke her up. "Wake up, honey, we're here."

She pulled her chair up and looked out the window. It was Paris, France. She couldn't believe it. She was finally here. She'd been wanting to go for a while, and now she was here. She could even see the Eiffel Tower from their position in the air, while they were preparing to land. 

"All passengers please proceed in an orderly manner and exit the air craft. Hope you all had a wonderful trip. Enjoy your stay," the assistant announced.

"Let's go find our hotel. I rented a suite for us." Sonomi told her daughter, who was still looking at the site around her. It was incredible.

~*~

"Eriol-sama, why don't you take yoga lessons to free your mind and soul? And release the pain and stress. Cleanse your soul." Nakuru suggested.

"Yoga lessons, huh? You know what? That actually doesn't sound so bad. I think I'll give it a try. I really need to relax."

"Good, cuz I already enrolled you!" Nakuru laughed.

"You enrolled me without consulting me first?" 

"Well, I thought it was for your own good. I only want the best for my dear Eriol-sama. Besides, you've been really stressed lately, and Tomoyo being gone isn't helping either."

"I guess you're right for once, Nakuru. Arigatou."

"Yea, sure. Anything for you. Now let's get going. Your class starts in thirty minutes."

"What?! It starts today? You just told me about it and you want me to go now?!"

"Yea. Why not?"

"Ok then. I don't have anything to do now anyway," he said, giving up too easily.

"Great! I'll drive!"

"Uh, Master Eriol, I don't think it's a good idea to let her drive. It could be very dangerous! Actually, it _is_ very dangerous. You know how wild Nakuru-san is." Spinel warned. 

"Arigatou, you're right, Spinel-san. I'll drive."

"Aww. You always ruin my fun, Suppi-chan. I think I should've given you more sugar at first. Oh well, I'll just do that when I get back," Nakuru pouted.

~*~

"Tomoyo, dear, do you want to join a dancing or singing class here? I know how much you like it." Sonomi asked her daughter.

"I'd love to, mother. I'd like to join dancing."

"Great. I'll enroll you now on the phone." She picked up the phone and dialed the number.

"Cool. I can't wait to start. Maybe I could even make new friends there." 

~*~

Japan

There were many eager applicants at the yoga class, still trying to enroll. There were also girls there who were unsure of whether or not they should join.

 Eriol parked the car and walked up to the correct room in the building. When the girls there saw Eriol entering the hall, they all suddenly decided to immediately join.

"I didn't know that many people, especially girls, were interested in yoga," Eriol said as he saw the girls fighting over the application forms.

"They're not, Master Eriol. They're only interested in you. That's why when you walked in, the ladies over there suddenly had the urge to join yoga," Nakuru replied knowingly. 

"Well, too bad. I'm already taken, but I can tell why they would fight over me. I mean, who could resist me?" he said jokingly.

"Honestly, Eriol-sama, you are too self-absorbed sometimes," sighed Nakuru.

"Well, who wouldn't be interested in this adorable face and good looks?" he continued to joke.

"Alright, Eriol-sama. I get the picture, so stop acting like that. Besides, I'm the one with the looks in the family," she laughed.

Eriol was about to make a come back, but was pulled into the class by the woman instructor.

"Bye Eriol-sama! Have fun!" Nakuru said to a distressed Eriol, and left.

"Class, I would like everyone to sit down on these mats and cross your legs. Relax and don't think about any of your worries. Think about good relaxing things. Now close your eyes and breathe." the instructor ordered.

Eriol did as told, but it was hard for him to concentrate when he could feel all the anxious eyes, of the ladies in the class, on him. He knew they were all viewing him adoringly, but the only one he could think about like that was Tomoyo.

"Alright now. Everyone grab a partner and we'll do some exercises," came the instructor's voice again.

One of the girls did exactly as told: she literally grabbed Eriol and told him to be her partner. He didn't see any reason to refuse, so he just stayed put and became her partner. Although that disappointed many of the other girls.

"Konnichiwa, my name is Hitaku Kawasaki," she introduced.

"Nice to meet you Kawasaki-san. I'm Eriol Hiiragizawa."

"It's very nice to meet you too." she said dreamily. 

"Now class, let's do our falling exercises. One partner will stand in front of the other partner, but not too far. Then that partner will fall back on the second partner, and the second partner will catch them. This exercise helps you relax and trust your partner. Got it? Good. Now begin."

Hitaku walked in front of Eriol to be the one to fall back first. She then decided to casually mention if he had a girlfriend. She needed to know because she wanted him. Big mistake.

"So uh, do you have a girlfriend, Hiiragizawa-kun?" she tried to sound as casual as possible, but Eriol was too sharp for that. He knew right away what she was up to.

"As a matter of fact, I do," he said, and started to daydream about Tomoyo.

Wounded, Hitaku began to fall back to start the exercise, but Eriol didn't catch her. Instead, he was still in lalaland daydreaming about Tomoyo. Poor Hitaku. There was no more room on the matted area for them to do the exercise, so they were on the section that didn't have the soft mats to break Hitaku's fall. She hit her head on the floor hard. Then suddenly, Eriol heard a loud boom on the floor and a painful moan that broke him from his trance. He then realized what had happened.

"I'm so sorry, Kawasaki-san! Please accept my sincerest apology. I was just daydreaming about a certain special someone," came Eriol's panicked voice.

Hitaku sweatdropped. "It's okay, but I have a headache now and it hurts. Could you please escort me to the nurse's office?" she asked, still trying to get some time alone with him. 

"Of course. Let me just inform the instructor first." He told the teacher and went with Hitaku to the first aid room. 

"Okay, let's continue our exercises. After you have done them three times, switch places with your partner."

"Where exactly is the nurse's office?" Eriol asked, unsure of where to go.

"I'm not sure, but I think it's downstairs."

"Okay, let's take the elevator."

Hitaku pushed the down button and waited for elevator to come up. It arrived shortly and the two entered, pushing another button inside for the level below them. Then as they were going down, the elevator swayed and there was a crashing sound. 

"Uh oh. I think the elevator is broken. We should of taken the stairs. I'm scared. Could you hold me?" Hitaku threw herself on Eriol. He sweatdropped at this and decided to just comfort her. 

"It's okay. Don't worry. I'll call someone on the emergency phone." He picked up the receiver and dialed the main office in the lobby. No answer. There was just static and the phone died down. Soon the lights also flickered out. 

Sighing, Eriol said, "Just great. I guess we'll have to sit here and wait 'til someone finds us." 

~*~

In France

"Thanks for dropping me off, Okaasan. Bye! And remember to pick me up in two hours." Tomoyo said as she waved goodbye to her mom and walked into the dance class building. 

"Don't worry, I'll remember. Have fun, bye!" Sonomi smiled. 

It was a little crowded and there were even guys there. Heads turned when she entered, and she thought it was only because she was Japanese and they weren't used to seeing a Japanese girl in France. But it wasn't just because of that. They all admired her beauty, poise, and grace. Some guys actually thought that they had fallen in love: love at first sight. Unfortunately for them, she already had someone waiting for her back home. But of course they didn't know that.

Tomoyo waltzed in gracefully and stood next to the rest of the eager pupils. There were guys on one side and girls on the other. 

"Now class, today we're going to stretch and start with ballroom dancing. Everyone okay with that lesson plan?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Now let's begin," announced the dance instructor. "First we're going to stretch our legs and…"

Tomoyo couldn't exactly pay attention to what the teacher was droning on about. She was too aware of all the pairs of eyes gazing at her intently.

Geez. They act as if they'd never even seen a Japanese girl before Tomoyo thought confusedly.

"All right. Now we'll begin our ballroom dancing lessons. Everyone choose a partner and we'll begin."

At the sound of those words, more than half of the male population of the class rushed toward Tomoyo, hoping she'd choose them to be her dance partner. 

Tomoyo's purple eyes widen as she witnessed this mad rush of boys coming towards her. It was almost like a stampede. The other jealous girls with no dance partners glared at Tomoyo for 'taking away all of them.'

"Would you like to be my partner?" The question sounded many times in the room, coming from all the guys in front of her. 

"Uh…" came her perplexed, yet pleasant, voice, as she sweatdropped.

The instructor, seeing this crowd around Tomoyo, came over to sort things out.

"Okay, break it up, people, break it up. You may be the lovely mistress's partner," the instructor said, pointing to one of the eager boys. "The rest of you, take one of them." she said, pointing to the excluded, envious girls. Groans resounded around the room as the rejected lads walked head-down toward the other lasses. The one chosen to be Tomoyo's partner boasted and sneered at them.

Tomoyo raised an eyebrow at this peculiarity. I guess it's either they like Japanese girls or I look especially nice today Tomoyo thought, grinning secretly.

"Bonjour, my name is Pierre Franchesco. What's your name?" he asked, with a nice French accent.

"Konnichiwa. I mean hi. My name's Tomoyo Daidouji. Nice to meet you."

"Now that everyone is acquainted, let's begin." The instructor put on some classical music and gave an example of how to dance.

"Would anyone like to also demonstrate for the class?" she asked.

"I would like to," Tomoyo spoke up as she raised her porcelain-like arm.

"Go ahead with your partner."

"But I don't know how," whispered Pierre, worriedly.

"Don't worry, I'll lead. Just follow my steps," came her soothing voice.

Tomoyo waltzed beautifully and elegantly, leading Pierre every step of the way. Everyone, especially the guys, were astounded. "Wow," was all they could say.

"Excellent! That is exactly how I want you all to dance. Now commence in the assignment until I say otherwise." The instructor turned to Tomoyo. "That was very good. What is your name?"

"Thank you, my name is Tomoyo Daidouji," she answered.

"Nice to meet you. You know, you don't really need this class. You're already excelling in this subject."

"Thank you. I'm aware of that, but I would like to continue because it is enjoyable for me."

"Very well. I'd be glad to have you as a pupil. Now you go enjoy yourself with Pierre over there."

She did as told and strolled over to the waiting Pierre.

"Ready to dance?" Pierre inquired.

"Yep. Let's get started."

They danced on, as Tomoyo thought of Eriol, and Pierre gazed at her adoringly. I wonder what Eriol-kun is doing now. Does he still miss me? His last letter was adorable. When I get back to the hotel, I need to write my last letter to him before I return she thought to herself.

Wow, she even smells good. I can't take it anymore. I've gotta do something Pierre thought. "Would you like to go out with me after class?" he asked nervously.

"I'm sorry but I already have a boyfriend." 

"Oh, sorry I wasn't aware."

"It's okay." 

They continued dancing a little awkwardly. So he does like me… They moved on to other dances and finally broke apart when the class was over. 

"Wow, time sure flies by when I'm with you." Pierre told Tomoyo.

Smiling weakly, she replied "thanks."

Pierre hugged her tightly and kissed her hand like a French gentleman.

"Would you like to go out to a French café for a cup of coffee with me? I know a very nice one nearby," Pierre asked, unsure of what was going to happen. He figured he'd give it another try.

"I'm sorry, but I'm busy. And like I've said before, I have someone in Japan waiting for me already. Could we just be friends?" Tomoyo asked the poor infatuated boy.

"S-sure. If that's what you want," he replied melancholy. 

"Bye, Franchesco-san."

Tomoyo left, unsure of what to do and not wanting to make him even glummer. Plus, her heart belonged only to a certain dark blue-haired boy back in Japan.

~*~

Back in Japan

"How much longer do you think we'll have to wait?" Hitaku asked Eriol. "We've been here for two hours!"

"Don't worry. I think someone will be coming soon hopefully."

"I'm tired. Mind if I take a short nap on you?" Hitaku inquired, hopefully.

"Uh, actually I was planning on taking a little doze myself," he answered, so that she wouldn't rest on him. 

"That's great. We can lean on each other." Before Eriol could say another word, she leaned on his shoulder and went straight to sleep.

"Kawasaki-san?" ::sigh:: "Oh well. I just won't sleep." Reluctantly, he let her stay because he didn't want to be rude or mean. But still, that was reserved for Tomoyo. Then after a while, his shoulder began to ache. I guess her head doesn't hurt anymore

Is class I over yet? Eriol thought. I thought this class was suppose to make me relax, not more stressed

Hitaku was all over him, while she was 'sleeping'. She was really starting to annoy him, but he didn't want to be mean. So he just ignored it, hoping that it would wear off soon. 

Geez. What part of I've already got a girlfriend does she not get? She's beginning to remind me of Nakuru-san when she's chasing boys he continued with his frustrating thoughts.

Ahh. This feels so good Hitaku thought. She was awake now, but she pretended to be asleep so that she could continue to rest on Eriol's shoulder. 

"Uh, Kawasaki-san, could you please remove your head now? My shoulder hurts." Eriol asked.

"Oh sorry Eriol, dear. Here, let give you a massage," she said, persuasively.

Eriol dear? What makes her think she has the right to call me that? She's acting like I'm already her beau or something. Okay, she's starting to freak me out "No, it's okay. I can handle it myself." Eriol replied, not wanting her to lay a finger on him. 

"No, I insist. After you let me rest on you, it's the least I can do. And I'm really good at it." 

Actually, I didn't let you rest on me. You just did it yourself Eriol thought. But before he could protest, Hitaku was already massaging his tender shoulders. "Ahh. That does feel kinda good."

"Told you so." She beamed.

"Thanks, but that's enough."

"But I wanna help you," she giggled.

"I'm fine now. Arigatou." He backed away to the other side of the elevator. 

"It's okay. I won't hurt you." Hitaku had a wicked glint in her amber eyes. 

"Are you okay, Kawasaki-san?"

"I'm fine. It's just that I need to tell you something." Her eyes softened. 

"What is it? Is it bad?"

"No. I-I love you!" she sputtered. She quickly turned around to hide her burning cheeks. She really did like him, but she knew he couldn't or wouldn't return that love. 

"Nani?! But I already have a girlfriend and I just met you," he cried nervously. He knew she liked him, but he didn't expect this. "Uh, Kawasaki-san?"

"I know, but I really, really like you. I can't help it. It just feels right." She threw herself on Eriol. He hugged her back in comfort.

"I'm sorry, but I can't reciprocate that love. I…love someone else." 

She began to cry. "Demo, doshite? Kimi wo aishiteiru! (But, why? I love you!)" She cried harder, soaking Eriol's shirt. 

"Gomen nasai, Kawasaki-san. Daijobu? (I'm very sorry, Kawasaki-san. Are you okay?) It's okay. We can be friends."

"No, we can't! Kimi wo aishiteiru, don't you get it?! How can I be your friend now? It'll hurt so much to even see your face again," she sobbed. Damn! I can't even run out of here!

"Kawasaki-san, onegai stop crying. I'm here for you now." She broke away from his embrace. 

"I just need some time alone." ::sobs::

What am I suppose to do? I hate to see her cry, demo, I can't love her back Just then, the elevator began to work again. Whew. Saved by the elevator! "Kawasaki-san, let's go. The elevator's working again. We're free."

"Maybe physically, but this is gonna haunt me mentally for a long time."

"Gomen nasai, Kawasaki-san. Gomen nasai."

"It's not your fault. I'm such a baka; falling for someone I just met." Eriol tried to comfort her with a hug, but she tore away from him and ran all the way home. "Good bye Hiiragizawa-kun!" she yelled desolately as she ran and continued to cry. 

"Kawasaki-san!" Eriol tried to chase her but decided that she needed to be alone. 

When I get home, I'm gonna kill Nakuru-san for this. Nakuru-san and her crazy ideas. Now I'm more distraught than before and I broke someone's heart! ::sigh:: I hope Tomoyo-chan's having a better time than I am, cuz I certainly don't feel very good right now. I'll write and tell her everything

So when he got home to his luxurious mansion, he plopped himself on the large, soft, comforting couch. Home at last

"Eriol-sama! You're back already? Me and Suppi-chan are making sugar cookies. Would you like some?" Nakuru giggled cheerfully.

"Nakuru-san! You and your crazy ideas! I broke someone's heart today! Did you know about a certain Kawasaki-san?"

"OH! You met Kawasaki-san! Isn't she great? I knew she'd energize and entertain you when I or Tomoyo-chan couldn't be there!" she flashed him an oversized smile. "Wait, you broke her heart? How could you? She's so nice though."

"NAKURU-SAN! You knew about her and you let me go there?! Remind me to never pursue any of your absurd ideas again! And besides, she wasn't trying to entertain me. She loved me."

"Didn't I warn you, master? You should know by now that all of her ideas are ridiculous." Spinel joined in the conversation.

"Thanks, Spinel. I think I'll remember that from now on. Nakuru, could you please run a hot bubble bath for me? I'd like to soak for a while," said the exhausted Eriol.

"Sure thing master!" she replied, still overly cheerful.

~*~

Ah. This feels sooooo good Eriol thought as he was soaking in the hot bubble bath that Nakuru prepared for him. He soaked there for a while and then reached out to pull down the stand from the wall of the bathroom to begin his letter to Tomoyo.

_Haikei Tomoyo-chan,_

_How's your stay in France? Hope you're having fun, because it's been dreadful here without you. Time seems to go by so slowly now that you're gone, because when you're here, time and space seems to be on pause. You make me forget everything else…_

That was as far as Eriol got because just then, Nakuru and Spinel burst through the door.

"Suppi-chan! Come on! Just one cup of sugar won't hurt!" came Nakuru's ecstatic voice.

"Get away from me, Nakuru-san, or I'll blast you! Master Eriol, could you please tame this wild beast before she shoves that sugar down my throat?"

"Nakuru-san! Spinel-san! Could you two please leave me here in peace for a while? For heaven's sake, I'm trying to take a bath and relax! And Nakuru-san, please don't give Spinel so much sugar…at least not until I get out of the bathtub. I can't handle the two of you when you're both hyper, and I'm in the bath."

"Sorry Eriol-sama. We'll leave you here in peace. But as soon as you get out, I'm gonna give Suppi-chan my special cookies made entirely of sugar with a complementing cup of sugar!"

They ran out of the room. Eriol sighed and decided to finish the letter while listening to a cd of a duet with him on the piano and Tomoyo on vocals.

Well, at least there's only one day left until Tomoyo-san's return

He already had a welcome home bash arranged for her and a special gift he created for her. 

~*~

In France

"Tomoyo-san, do you have all of your things packed? We're leaving in an hour." 

"Yes, Okaasan. I'm ready. Let's load our things into the limo," Tomoyo answered her mother.

The room attendant helped them with their belongings, and soon they were off to the airport. 

"I can't wait until we get home, Okaasan, and see everyone again!"

"Me too, dear, me too."

~*~

"Okay, everyone here? Good. Now I'm going to the airport to fetch Tomoyo-san and Daidouji-sama. When I come back, everyone take their positions, understood?" said Eriol, the mastermind of this whole bash. They were all at Eriol's pad, preparing for Tomoyo's welcome home bash.

"Hai!" everyone answered him.

~*~

Tomoyo and her mother arrived in Japan and awaited their ride in the airport. 

"I'm very tired, Tomoyo-san. I'm telling our ride to take me straight home. But you may go visit your friends if you like." Sonomi told her daughter. 

"Hai, I'm going to visit Sakura-chan and Eriol-kun…"

"TOMOYO-CHAN!!!!!" Eriol hollered across the airport.

"ERIOL-KUN!!!!" Tomoyo hollered back.

He ran to embrace her, taking in her intoxicating aroma that he longed for. 

"Tomoyo-san! It's so great to see you again! Nice to see you too, Daidouji-sama."

"Very nice to see you again too, Hiiragizawa-san. You know, Tomoyo-san has missed you dearly."

He turned to her. "Did you really?"

"Of course! And did you miss me?"

"More than anything."

Sonomi smiled at her daughter's happiness. Sonomi had divorced Tomoyo's father long ago, and he remarried Kaho. Sonomi tried to keep in touch with Tomoyo, but failed. So now she was trying to make up for not being there before. Sonomi had found Tomoyo after she had moved into her own apartment.  

Sonomi had never seen Tomoyo so happy before Eriol came into her life. And now that he has, she was happy for her. 

"Tomoyo-chan, would you like to come over to my mansion to relax?"

"I'd love to!"

"Hiiragizawa-san, could you please drop me off at my mansion? I'm very tired," Sonomi asked.

"Are you sure you don't want to come over to my house for a while?"

"I'm sure, but Tomoyo-san may stay as long as she pleases."

"All right then. Let's go."

Eriol drove Sonomi back to her mansion and drove Tomoyo back to his own mansion.

As he drove up, everyone in his house took their places. Eriol walked up to the door and opened it. When they walked in, Tomoyo was surprised by millions of 'SURPRISE!' shouted at them.

"Oh my god! Eriol-kun, what is all this?" asked a stunned, yet jubilant Tomoyo.

"It's your welcome home bash, organized by yours truly," he smirked at her shining smile.

"Thank you so much!" she replied as she threw herself into his arms. "Thank you all for coming!"

"Anything for you, my little plum blossom. And I have a gift for you."

"A gift? This is more than enough already! I have something for you too, though."

"I'll go first." With that, Eriol took out a beautiful lavender box and handed it to Tomoyo. She took it and opened it with eyes wide and was shocked to the bone. It was a pendent on a silver chain, which would become a staff of her own once she called upon it. The symbol was a lavender plum blossom, which represented Tomoyo very well.

"Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it! Thank you so much for everything you've done! I can't say that enough."

"You don't have to. Your presence is more than enough thanks for me, and you're very welcome."

She planted one of her remarkable kisses on him and embraced him tightly.

"One more thing, sweetie. It's not just a pendant. You will have real powers once you call upon your staff. You can use it to protect yourself when I'm not around and a part of me will always be with you." He smiled warmly.

"Words can't express how thankful and happy I am right now, Eriol-kun. You're so sweet that you're giving me cavities," she smiled in return.

"Would you like to try it out?"

"Sure! But first I have to give you my gift." She handed him a baby blue box with a silver ring that was tinted a faint lavender. 

"I have the same, except mine is tinted a light baby blue. The lavender represents me and the blue represents you. That way, a part of me will always be with you too. I'll always think of you when I have this ring on. It's a promise ring. We'll always be faithful to each other and love each other, no matter what. And if we break up, it'll represent our friendship."

"Thank you sooo much Tomoyo-san! This really means a lot to me! More than you know." Eriol smiled sincerely and embraced her yet again.

"Okay, now let's try out my new powers! But I don't know what to say."

"Don't worry, it'll just come to you."

As Tomoyo tried out her new abilities with Eriol's help, they were oblivious of three pairs of eyes watching them in the shadows. It was Kaho, once again. Except this time she had brought along her two evil daughters to help in her vengeance against Eriol and Tomoyo. And this time she was more prepared. 

"Hotaru and Meka, I expect both of you to do well in this task. I have given you both key pendants and have created myself one, so we have to succeed. And if we don't, both of you will be severely punished, understood?" Kaho reprimanded sinisterly.

"We understand, mother. We won't fail you," they answered in unison, sounding like robots.

Indeed, they did have new staffs. Kaho had created a rose pendant with red flame patterns on it for herself, a smaller orange flame staff key for Hotaru, and a yellow flame staff key for Meka, that was the same size as Hotaru's. Now they were more powerful, and there were three of them, all seeking revenge on the sweet Tomoyo and Eriol. 

Kaho had on her side more power and sorcerers now. Would they finally succeed in their retaliation? Or would they once again be defeated? Remember, good doesn't always defeat evil. So will evil prevail this time?

To be continued…

A/N: Cliffhanger? Kinda? Well anyway, there's the end of chapter three. How was it? Long? Tell me your opinion in a review! Thanks for reading my fic! Now, review and read the next chapter! ^_^


	4. New Powers Unleashed

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS; Clamp does.

A/N: Here's chapter four. Hang in there, this fic is almost over. Thank you all of you who have read it! 

Chapter 4

**~*New Powers Unleashed*~**

"Hotaru, Meka, don't attack yet. We have to wait for the right moment to attack. There are too many people here now. Just be patient a while longer," Kaho ordered.

"But why don't we just freeze everyone inside. Then attack? They won't expect us because there's a crowd out there. And we shouldn't give them so much time to practice," Hotaru suggested.

"Sometimes you sound like you're even sharper than me. Great idea. But release your staffs and freeze everyone inside quickly, or else he'll sense us."

So they called upon their newly acquired staffs and immediately froze all the guesses. What they didn't know, though, was that Sakura, Syaoran, Nakuru, Yue, Kero, and Spinel weren't frozen. Kaho and them were stronger now, but they didn't have that much that they could freeze everyone, including the magical ones.

"Now! Attack!" Kaho yelled. Spurs of ice were blasted directly at Eriol and Tomoyo. They impulsively dodged the surprise attack.

::gasp:: Eriol and Tomoyo whirled around to come face to face with them. 

"You again?" Eriol sputtered.

Tomoyo was astonished. She knew her wicked stepmother was evil, but she didn't suspect Hotaru or Meka would also be like her. She knew they were wicked also, but not as evil. Tomoyo believed that deep inside, Hotaru and Meka were a little better than that. They just had to search deeper and ignore their crazy mother.

"Tomoyo-san, daijobu?" Eriol said, trying to shake her back to reality.

"Huh? Oh. Daijobu. It's just that they're Hotaru-san and Meka-san, my stepsisters."

"Oh." 

Taking advantage of Tomoyo's shock, the three began to attack again. Beams of fire, ice, and lightning barely missed Tomoyo as Eriol pushed her out of the way.

"Get ready to battle, Tomoyo-chan!"

"Right!"

When the other magical inhabitants in the mansion heard the noise, they rushed outside. 

"Quick! We have to go help Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun!" Sakura cried.

"No. Everyone stay back. This is Tomoyo-san and kind of Hiiragizawa-kun's battle. We have to let them win on their own," Syaoran said wisely. But if they don't win, I'll surely miss Tomoyo-chan dearly…but I wouldn't mind losing Hiiragizawa-kun. Hehe. Then again, I know they'll succeed he thought.

"The kid's got a point. Let's stand by and come in only if they really need help," Kero answered.

"Okay, but if anything happens, I'm jumping in," Sakura replied anxiously.

"Tomoyo-chan, use your new powers. Concentrate and call upon them. The words will come to you," Eriol instructed. I'd better let her fight this battle. It belongs to her. I know she can take the three of them together. She's stronger than them

Tomoyo chanted the incantations that instinctively flowed into her mind, and ignited her buried powers. Beams of lavender and violet shot out of her staff and blasted the three. They flew back, hitting the concrete wall that encircled the garden. The three fired back, sending flames through the air. Kaho shot red flames, Hotaru shot orange flames, and Meka shot yellow blazes: all matching the color of their own staff and key. 

One blaze caught on Tomoyo's perfectly suave, wavy hair, causing her to rage. Her hair was one of her chief treasures that she was proud of. Tomoyo quickly put it out with a splash of water from her wand and retaliated. She chanted more spells and more beams of lilac flared out. The evil stepmother and stepsisters flew into the rose patch. Drops of red splashed everywhere as the thorns pierced their bare flesh. The blood red roses now became even more of a reddish-burgundy color. As they charged back, Tomoyo defended by releasing her shield, blocking the useless strikes.

Tomoyo released flaming embers from her staff, which surrounded the three. This would give her more time to chant a more forceful spell. But there were three of them, so they blasted it away quickly and shot back at her with ice and water, while she was still chanting. Unfortunately, since she wasn't done yet, the attacks hit her directly at full blast. The water shoved her against the other wall. When the water stopped, she was dropped into another section of thorny lavender roses. This time, blood of the purest Tomoyo was splattered all over the wall and flowers. She was more hurt than the other three. But it wasn't the end of the pain yet. Meka shot icicles that pinned Tomoyo to the wall behind the coarse stems of the roses. Lamentably, there were two roses pinned behind her, thorns and all, between the wall and her back, causing more of her precious blood to pour rapidly and mercilessly as the thorns drove deeper into her skin. Her back was streaked with blood and her soft cherry lips were dripping with more of the liquid of her heart. Although she was literally covered in her own blood, she was still beautiful and standing strong. She groaned from all the pain that was inflicted on her in such a short amount of time. It all happened so quickly. One minute she was testing her newfound powers, and the next, she was in a gory battle against her own relatives.

"TOMOYO-CHAN!!" Eriol screamed worriedly. He tried to go help her but the guardians held him back.

"This is Daidouji-san's battle. She will triumph over them. Have faith and believe in her," Yue said calmly.

Tomoyo looked at Eriol. Their eyes told each other everything. Hers said 'I can do this. Just believe in me. I'll be okay,' and his told her, 'I believe in you. Let the magic guide you.'  They nodded to each other reassuringly.

I can do this! I know it! Eriol-kun believes in me. I can't let him down Tomoyo thought mentally. Though she was aching all over, she wouldn't give up. She had to end this once and for all. She couldn't let anyone get hurt again by these three; especially her loved ones.

"This is enough! I'm going to end this now!" Tomoyo shouted. She tore herself away from the icicles, causing her clothes to rip and gaining her more scratches from the surrounding thorns. "I'm going to stop you once and for all!"

She recited more spells with all her remaining strength and energy to open up a vortex. 

"I've read about those kinds of vortexes before," Syaoran said. "Whoever falls into that is trapped in another dimension forever and their magic will vanish over time. There have been cases of these, but they're very rare. Tomoyo-san must be very powerful to be able to unleash that."

The vortex sucked the bleeding mother and sisters in. They screamed for benevolence, but everyone watched mercilessly. None of them even thought of helping them. 

Just as the vortex was sealing itself up almost completely, Kaho pulled Tomoyo by the ankle. She lost her balance and slid down on the floor, grasping for something sturdy to hold on to. Eriol instinctively dived down to grab her. His grip on her delicate hand was slowly loosening bit by bit. The vortex was just too powerful. 

Finally, Eriol's unsteady grip on Tomoyo's hand unlocked. "TOMOYO-CHAAAAAAANNNNN!!!!!!!" Eriol screamed.

"ERIOL-KUNNNNNN!!!!" Tomoyo's voice echoed as she fell deeper and deeper into the vortex with her evil stepmother and stepsisters.

To be continued…

A/N: How's that for the fourth chapter? I know it's kinda short, but oh well. ^_^ Is that considered a cliffie? You'll just have to read the next chapter to find out what happens! But for now, be a good reader and REVIEW!!! Plz review because I've decided not the post the next chapter until I get at least 15 reviews all together. Thank you all who've read this fic! Love ya! ^_^ Ja!


	5. The Power Within

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. Clamp does.

A/N: Hi all! I know that chapter 3 was weird, well, very weird, but I couldn't really think when I was writing that chappie. Anyway, hope this one and chp 4 are better! This is the last chapter to this fic. Hope you all enjoy it! I worked really hard on it so plz go easy on me, but I can take flames. CAUTION: this chapter has a little minor 'offensive' language in it. But plz review after reading! Love you all! Ja! ^_^

Chapter 5

**~*The Power Within*~**

The vortex sealed itself completely and vanished, leaving Eriol in pain and shock. His emotions were all jumbled up. He felt sorrow, pain, grief, pain, regret, pain, frustration, pain, rue, shock, and more pain. It felt as though a solid knife had just pierced his heart; slashed it, tore it apart, ripped it limp from limp, and sliced it in half.

"NNNOOOOOO!!! God, no! Damn it!!!" he shouted, tears seeping through his tightly closed eyelids. "Tomoyo-chan," he whispered softly.

"TOMOYO-CHAN!" Sakura shouted after she, too, had witnessed her best friend vanish right before her eyes. She began to cry too. Tears spilled out of all the pairs of eyes watching, even the ever calm Suppi-chan. 

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan, Hiiragizawa-kun. We'll find a way to get her back," Syaoran comforted. Although he didn't really care if Eriol was okay, he knew how he felt. He couldn't even imagine what he would do if he lost Sakura.

"Calm down?! CALM DOWN?! The love of my life just slipped out of my fingertips and I'll probably never see her again! How can I calm down?! It's entirely my fault! God, why Tomoyo-chan?" Eriol hollered back. Tears were pouring out like crazy. "You know that no one can open that type of vortex again besides the one who opened it right? And guess where that person is? She's in there! She was sucked up by the vortex! It's all my fault! Damn! The vortex is going to eat away her magic, and if she's not strong enough, it'll eat her soul too! Do you know what this means? Do you even know what she means to me?!" he continued to yell vehemently. ::sobs:: "I love her! I've got to find a way to get her back." He contemplated deeply for a moment while letting tears flow freely down his soft cheeks. He began to speak again, only in a much calmer tone. "There is one other way, though. The only other way to open it again is to find the purest soul on this planet. Only that person and the one who opened the portal can reopen it once it's sealed. But if the purest soul was sucked into the portal, that person can't open it. If that happens, only the one who opened it before can open it again. But in this case, one who opened in the first place it was sucked in, so only the person with the purest soul can unlock the vortex. It's either one or the other. And right now we have to find the other."

"But there are so many people out there. How will we find that special person out of all the other trillions and trillions of individuals?" Sakura asked apprehensively.

Eriol had collected himself now and calmed his grieving session. He figured that he has to pull himself together to save Tomoyo. "There is a spell we can use, but it won't be easy. It's going to take a lot of magic." With a wave of his hand, Eriol made a list of things needed for the procedures appear out of thin air. "These are the necessary items for this enchantment to work."

"Wait. What about all of the frozen guesses inside?" Syaoran inquired.

"Don't worry, Suppi-chan and I will handle it. You guys go get Tomoyo-chan back," Nakuru offered. She grabbed Spinel and ran back inside the mansion.

"Arigatou. Now let's get started," Eriol responded. "Okay. Sakura-san and Li-kun, you two go get a large moon crystal shaped like a moon, a white rose, and a seashell. Keroberus and Yue, go get a dove, a plum blossom, and a sun crystal shaped like a sun. I'll set up the altar for the ritual. Hurry. Go now."

"Hai." Everyone rushed off to the nearest place that contained those items.

A couple hours later, everyone was back with the items they were instructed to get. Eriol had set up one of the rooms of the mansion for this ceremony. He drew a large star on the center of the floor and placed candles on each of the inward angles of the star. Each person put what they had retrieved in a section of the star and waited for Eriol's next directions. The plum blossom, of course, was placed in the center of the star.

"Hey Eriol-kun? Why those items?" Sakura asked.

"Because the moon crystal represents the moon and myself, the sun represents the sun and also myself, the rose represents earth, the shell represents the sea and water, the plum blossom represents Tomoyo-chan, and the dove represents peace," he replied.

"Oh. That makes sense. But what will happen, Eriol-kun?"

"Well, after we say the spell, a hologram of the person we're searching for, in this case the purest soul ever, will appear."

"Ooooh. I see."

"Now, everyone stand in one of the angles of the star. I'll stand on the top angle."

They did as told. Everyone held hands and channeled their powers into the altar while chanting the spell. The Clow seal and the Sakura seal appeared on the floor. After a few minutes, the star below glowed a pearly white. Rays of light reflected upward. When the beams died down a little, a vivid projection of a figure began to appear. It was Tomoyo. 

"Hoe? Tomoyo-chan? She's the purest soul ever?" Sakura asked, wide-eyed.

"I guess so." Eriol told her.

"But I thought that only the one that wasn't sucked inside the vortex would be able to open it!"

"I did."

"But Tomoyo-chan is both, and she was sucked inside. So…she's trapped there forever?"

"I'm afraid so. There's no other way. At least, not to my expansive knowledge." He teared up. "But we can search about this situation in all the magical books I own. And Li-kun, you can search all of your books. Let's get going."

~*~

In the vortex

"Ahhhhh!" Tomoyo yelled as she fell to the solid floor below. "Ow."

"Tomoyo-chan! This is entirely your fault! You trapped us in here and now we'll perish!" roared Kaho.

"What? But there must be a way out."

"That's just what you think. Vortexes like these are very rare. Only the purest soul on earth or the one that opened it before can reopen it once it's seal. And you can't open it, even though you opened it first, because you're in here. Thank you very much for wasting my life."

"I did not waste your life! Besides, even if you weren't in here, you'd still be wasting your life plotting evil."

"Oh, be quiet you little brat. I need to concentrate."

"Whatever. But I'm still going to try to open it up again." Her staff was still released. All she had to do now was say the magic words. She muttered them under her breath. A portal suddenly glowed before her, but it died down and didn't work. She tried again, but it only appeared for a little while and disappeared quickly.

Well, I guess Kaho-sama was right for once. Hey, why do I suddenly feel so weak? It feels like my powers are draining

The look on Tomoyo's face told Kaho everything. "Huhuhu. You fool! In these vortexes, every magical person should try to preserve their magic so they can survive longer, because eventually, all of our powers will be sucked into oblivion. So now you lost even more powers and even more quickly. You're such a baka."

"Well, I didn't know about this. I just received my powers today. Ah!" Tomoyo looked at her body, it was slowly fading away, like it was disintegrating. "What's happening to me?"

"You're dying because the vortex is sucking up your powers and your life. Hotaru, Meka, and I would have died first because we're weaker. But since you used your powers to try to open the portal, you created a leak in your power line. Bu-bye." She waved.

"But I can't die yet. I've still got a life to live. Eriol-kun and Sakura-chan will come and save me."

"Sorry, but it's too late for that, sweetie. Huhuhu," she laughs in a low evil voice.

Then finally, Tomoyo's entire body flickers away and disappears, leaving her soul hovering in the air. It was glowing a bright lavender, and it slowly floated out of that dimension, and into the original one. She had no control over what was happening, but she could see everything that she was passing by. Her soul finally reached its destination and stopped right in front of the still panicking Eriol. He looked up from all the books that were scattered everywhere.

"Tomoyo-chan?"

The sphere of light glowed even brighter until Tomoyo's true from was revealed.

"Eriol-kun!" She threw herself into one of Eriol's amazing hugs. "What happened to me? I felt like I was dying and my powers were slowly draining away until my whole body disappeared and my soul floated over to you. I was so scared. I thought that I would never see you or anyone else ever again."

"It's okay, Tomoyo-chan. Relax. I believe your soul came to me because we're soul mates. I'm so glad that you're back. I basically had a heart attack when I practically let you fall into that vortex. I thought that I lost you forever!" He squeezed her tighter. "What happened was, you're the purest soul on this earth and the one who opened the vortex, so you survived by creating a path between the dimensions for yourself. Since you're both of those things, you overcame the vortex. You found the power within." He smiled tenderly.

"Well that explains it. But what will happen to my step-relatives? Will they eventually vanish and lose their powers?"

"I'm afraid so. Are you going to miss them?"

"Kinda, I guess. They treated me like dirt. But still, I know that if Hotaru-san and Meka-san would spend some time away from Kaho-sama, they'd find their true nature, instead of following their mother's example." ::sigh:: "I guess I'll get over it, and I'll have you by my side." ::smiles::

"Got that right. I'll always be by your side no matter what." ::hug::

"Hey, what about the people at the party?"

"Oh, Nakuru-san and Suppi-chan has it covered, so we can always resume."

"Let's go!"

The two went out of the room and raved on. The night passed by quickly and soon, everyone left. Tomoyo, of course, stayed behind. She and Eriol were swinging steadily on the bench swing that Eriol had in the backyard. A gentle wind picked up and blew lightly against the two. The swinging stopped when Eriol suddenly became serious.

"Nani? Eriol-kun?"

"Um, Tomoyo-chan, there's something I want to ask you."

"Hai? What is it?"

"Well, we've been seeing each other for a long time and I love you very much. So will you marry me?" He pulled out a white jewelry box containing a beautiful amethyst stone perched on top of a platinum ring. Tears of joy cascaded swiftly down Tomoyo's elegant face as he waited anxiously for her answer.

"Hai, hai!" She hugged him lovingly while he squeezed her back. "I love you, Eriol-kun."

"Me too, Tomoyo-chan, me too." They smiled in each other's arms as a full moon began to appear in the night sky. Stars shone brightly. And somewhere in the sky above, Tomoyo's father was watching happily. "That's my girl."

THE END

Here's the Cinderella song that goes with the prequel of the fic:

A dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep,

In a dream, you will lose all your heartaches,

Whatever you wish for you keep,

Have faith in your dreams,

And someday your rainbow will come smiling,

And no matter how your heart is dreaming,

If you keep on believing, 

The dreams that you wish,

Will come true.

Remember this everyone:

No matter how your heart is dreaming,

If you keep on believing,

The dreams that you wish,

Will come true.

A/N: Yay! I finally finished this fic! That took me a while, and the good thing is that there's no mushy kisses in the end. ^_^ I know that other parts are too mushy, but oh well. I guess all the mush from the other fics I've read has gotten to me. Arigatou minna who've read this and reviewed! You're the best! For those of you who didn't, review now! I need some opinions! But I know this wasn't a very good ending, cuz towards the end, I got writers block. Oh well. Love you all. By the way, this is for June! Love ya lots! Ja! ^_^ 


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